**WARNING: DESCRIPTIONS OF GRAPHIC BLOOD AND GORE**
October 31st
8:07 pm
Outside the trap
"Nyx?!" Nate shouted as he scrambled to his feet and slammed his fists into the wall of shadow that separated him from the woman he loved most. The wall didn't even budge, he slammed his fists into it again with an angry grunt. It was then that Nate could hear Rhys shouting his name.
"Nate! Look around dude!" Rhys yelled in desperation. Nate followed his directions and slowly turned his head to look around. His face changed to horror as he saw the absolute massacre before him. Civilians being murdered indiscriminately by the Erebus Mafia, Nate saw that there was a large circle of Mafia grunts surrounding the entire festival grounds. They were just gunning down everyone as they tried to run away. "HEY!" Rhys shouted before he tackled Nate out of the way as a large ray of fiery hot energy shot past them and collided with the wall of shadow. It made the wall ripple slightly but other than that, it didn't take a scratch. Nate looked at the attacker and looked worried. It was The Phoenix from the compound, the fighter with flaming wings who fought against Jack.
"Hey, losers." Jessi said as she landed on the ground about ten feet away from them. "Care for a friendly sparring match?" She said confidently as she cracked her knuckles.
"Shit..." Nerissa said quietly as she stared down Jessi. "The one time I didn't bring water." She said even quieter. Nate cursed in Spanish under his breath, realizing he had no weapons either.
Then you stay back, stay with Soul and keep your eyes open. Soul, you try to open a door in that perimeter and get as many civilians out as you can with Nerissa's help. Keep her safe. Nerissa and Soul heard Nate speak calmly in their minds. Nerissa composed herself and looked at Soul, who was disturbingly calm. Soul returned her gaze before they both sprinted to the side to assist civilians.
"Aye! Not so fast!" Jessi shouted before she quickly brought her wing in front of her body, aiming for the two girls, but before she could swipe it in front of her Rhys' fist connected with the wing with incredible force. Jessi was sent sliding backwards a few feet before she lowered her wing to look at him. She smiled confidently when she saw Rhys' clenched fist smoking slightly and slightly burned. "Hurts, doesn't it?" She taunted him as her wings started burning brighter. Rhys chuckled softly until it morphed into a hearty laugh.
"Someone didn't do their homework." Rhys said as he lifted his hands and cracked his own knuckles, acting as if he didn't even feel the pain from his burned hand. "You should know, pain only makes me angry." Rhys said before he lunged forward with a growl and a manic grin on his face. Jessi tensed before she slammed her wings downward and launched into the air. She narrowly avoided Rhys swipe and soared into the air. Rhys growled as he stared up at her, she smiled down at him before she spun her body and a curved ray of fiery energy shot down towards Rhys. He quickly dived out of the way before yelling up at her. "Come on, pussy! Afraid to fight me for real?" Rhys yelled up as he held out his arms in a confident fashion.
"I am fighting you for real." Jessi said with a smile as she sent another ray of energy at him. Rhys quickly leaped up with his Gift enhanced legs and dodged the beam before he was in the air in front of Jessi and landed a sweeping kick into the center of her body. Jessi grunted as she was sent backwards, flapping her wings furiously to try and regain balance. She managed to find her center before crashing into the ground and Rhys landed back in the ground with a soft grunt.
"This is fighting me for real?" Rhys whistled quietly, "I thought you were supposed to be S Class." Rhys taunted as he stretched his arms and neck. Jessi growled in anger before she soared forward, she planted her feet on the ground and lunged forward with her outstretched hand. Her wing mimicked the motion and swiped at Rhys. He sidestepped the swipe, dodging it so closely that Rhys could feel the intense heat radiating off the wings. "I've fought you in that arena, remember? I know how you fight." Rhys taunted as he continued to dodge Jessi's attacks before Rhys' eyes widened in surprise. Jessi was low to the ground suddenly, pinned up on her wings as she tucked her legs close to her body. Soul happened to look over at the fight as she took down another Erebus foot soldier. Jessi kicked both of her legs into Rhys solar plexus and a memory flashed back into her mind. In the compound, watching Jack fight Jessi, it was a carbon copy of the attack Jack used to defeat Jessi. Soul growled in anger before she flicked her hand towards them and a shadow tendril snaked through the air. The tendril grabbed Jessi by the throat and yanked her backwards. Jessi was thrown around before she was slammed into Damien's cube of shadow, giving Rhys and Nate the moment they needed to recover before she went back to assist Nerissa. The impact caused a thunderous boom to sound through the sounds of civilians screaming.
"Holy shit." Nate said to himself as he was helping Rhys up. Rhys internally thanked Soul as he realized he was just humbled. Big time. Rhys wiped the blood from his mouth as he looked back at Jessi, she eased herself back to her feet as she coughed out blood herself. She rubbed her throat which was bruised from Soul's shadow. She made an angry sound of exertion and her wings burned brighter and grew larger. Jessi lifted both her wings and alternated swiping them in front of her. With each swipe, energy beams shot towards Rhys and Nate. Rhys reacted and tackled Nate to the ground, Jessi quickly adjusted her aim and sent more energy beams at them. The boys rolled and scrambled to their feet, barely keeping ahead of the blasts as they moved across the fairgrounds.
How the hell do we get close?! Nate slipped into Rhys' mind to speak to him without Jessi hearing.
Just keep dodging! We need her to burn herself out. Rhys thought in response. Nate understood the assignment. His first thought was to use his Gift, but he was far too distracted...his mind kept wandering back to Nyx, and what she was doing in that box. Damien was also in there, which terrified him. Nate! Rhys thought in his head, his voice sounding determined in his mind. Nate looked over at his friend as he dodged another beam. Split up! She'll have trouble hitting us both. Rhys was confident before the two split off in separate directions. Jessi quickly decided who to aim for and went for the weaker of the two, Nate. She slammed her wings down in front of her and two walls of flame shot out from the flaming wings and raced towards Nate. His eyes widened as he sucked in air to prepare his muscles for movement. Nate swiftly pivoted his body and the walls of flame shot past him, in front and behind him. Nate exhaled deeply to combat the adrenaline coursing through his veins. His breath hitched when he noticed Jessi falling towards him from above. Rhys was running towards them at this point. He couldn't see Nate through the wall of fire, but he knew that Nate was standing right where Jessi was dive-bombing.
When Jessi reached the walls of fire, the force of the wind sent the fire booming outwards. Rhys halted and stepped back slightly, he held his arm up to his face to shield himself from the intense heat. Rhys looked back in worry as the flames subsided. A smile spread across his face when he saw Nate was on his back on the ground, leaning back on his elbows. His legs were spread apart and he was breathing heavily. Jessi's closed fists were both planted against the ground in a small crater. It was a sloppy and reckless call, but Nate dodged it.
"Haha! Yeah!" Rhys laughed as he ran forward as Nate initiated his counter. He quickly lifted his legs up and swung them around, building momentum before he brought his knee into Jessi's face. She grunted in pain as she was sent to the side and she rolled across the ground. Rhys was at Nate's side and gripped his forearm to help him up. "Dude, you are reckless as hell and I LOVE that about you." Rhys said with a smile as he playfully slapped Nate's shoulder with the back of his hand. Nate breathed out a laugh, the adrenaline still flowing through him as Jessi got to her feet.
"You shitheads!" Jessi yelled angrily before she jolted slightly when she felt a small cold sensation in her face. She reached up and swiped the sensation away, she looked at her hand and saw water. She tensed when she immediately knew what was happening. She had to act before she was powerless. Jessi quickly acted and swiped her wings down and up, then down again in a small figure eight motion. Two walls of flame were sent at two different angles. The first was an angle that funneled Rhys and Nate closer to each other before it faded away quickly. The second was two large energy beams that were angled inward to try and cut right through them. Rhys reacted and shoved Nate out of the way before everyone heard Rhys yell out in pain, and for a long time. The rain was beginning to fall at a steady pace now as Nerissa's attention was jolted away from the last of the civilians as they were running away. She whipped around and her face changed to horror and fear. Nate and Soul's faces were in similar expressions as they saw Rhys. He was hunched over and clutching his right arm under his left armpit. On the ground in front of him was his severed hand. He was growling and breathing heavily through his pain now as his shoulders shook from the pain. However, astonishingly, Rhys wasn't losing it. He was showing immense self control as he kneeled down and continued to breathe through his pain.
Nate stared at his friend in horrid shock before he heard Nerissa scream out in horror with her hands clutching her hair. She slowly took her hands away from her head and looked at them. They were covered in water. "JESSI!" Nerissa yelled out in anger as she brought her hand up next to her. It looked as if a small vortex was forming above her palm as the rain was dragged out of the air as it fell. It formed into a ball above her palm before she reached up and stuck her hand into it. With a fast flourish, Nerissa flicked her arm down and the water quickly morphed into the shape of a blunt club and froze solid. Jessi's wings had already gone out at this point from the rain pelting her and she looked slightly worried. When Nerissa quickly slid and skated across the wet dirt with the help of her Gift, Nate had finally snapped out of it and ran over to Rhys. Nate quickly removed his belt and used it to tourniquet Rhys' arm.
"You're gunna be okay Rhys. There's plenty of water here now, Nerissa can help you." Nate was trying to sound calm and collected, but his shaking voice broke through slightly. He was trying to keep Rhys calm, but he truly had no idea if Neri could help him. Rhys could only hum affirmatively in response, as he was still struggling to keep himself from going into shock. He trusted Nerissa, definitely more than he trusted himself.
Nerissa skated around Jessi before she got close enough to take a swing with her ice club as she passed her. Jessi bent backwards to avoid the swing before she had to stumble backwards to avoid a shadow tendril as it stabbed down into the ground. Neri rounded around Jessi again as she stumbled to her feet. She swung again and struck Jessi on the side of her head and Jessi grunted in pain as she dropped to one knee. Nerissa halted before bringing her hands above her head and bringing down the club as hard as she could with a yell of exertion. The club shattered over Jessi's head and she fell down unconscious. "Fuck you." Nerissa said in anger before she dropped the broken handle to her club.
"Nerissa!" She snapped back to reality as she heard Nate call for her. She whipped around and ran towards the two boys with Soul close behind her.
"Rhys! Okay...uh-" Nerissa stuttered as she kneeled down in front of Rhys as he was being supported by Nate, who had Rhys' good arm slung over his shoulders. "Okay um...I've never had to reattach a limb before but...h-here goes." Nerissa said as Nate picked up Rhys' severed hand and held it against Rhys' arm where it belonged. He made sure it was lined up properly as well. Nerissa lifted her hand again and gathered more water from the air. "I know it's hard but please try to stay still." Nerissa's voice was shaking, but she wasn't letting her fear get in the way. Not anymore. Rhys breathed deeply, still unable to talk as his trembling slowed slightly. Nerissa brought the glob of water towards the wound as it glowed bright blue. Soul and Nate watched helplessly as the water soaked into his skin and the wound. Once it had soaked in, Nerissa noticed it had worked a little, but it wasn't fully connected.
"It's working... Do it again!" Nate said with a slight tone of relief in his voice, Rhys breathed through a small smile as well. Nerissa took a deep breath, her energy consumption was nearing her limit but she could push a little farther. She repeated her actions to gather the water and brought it to Rhys' wound and healed it again. Rhys let out a large sigh as the pain subsided but his hand felt stiff and slightly numb. Rhys removed Nate's belt from his arm and tried to flex his fingers but he winced just before his hand could close into a fist.
"I've always had trouble with healing nerves...Mia could probably do more to help." Nerissa shifted her weight into her legs and looked down. She breathed deeply, outwardly exhausted. Rhys looked over at Nate before he looked back at Nerissa.
"Neri, thank you. You truly are amazing." Rhys said weakly with a smile, causing Nerissa to look at him and give him a relieved smile.
"Guys?" Soul said quietly, causing the rest to look up at her. "What about them?" Soul said with her eyes locked on the giant black cube of shadow still looming over them. There hasn't been a single sound coming from the box since it was formed. Nate looked up at the box and his hands trembled slightly as his mind focused back to the situation at hand. Nyx was trapped. She was locked in a box with the Devil himself and he was locked on the outside, helpless. Nate looked down as his bottom lip started quivering before he bit it to keep it still. He walked forward and planted his hand against the box, hoping that she just...knew he was there. The small noise of a sob being choked down emitted from Nate's lips as his fists clenched.
"Nate?" Rhys said his name quietly. Nate couldn't answer as he slumped down to his knees and hung his head. Nerissa looked at Nate with pain in her eyes, she knew what he was feeling right now. She felt it many times. Rhys and Nerissa stepped forward and crouched down on either side of Nate as he brought his hands up and clutched his hair tightly. Rhys placed a supportive hand on Nate's shoulder as Nerissa leaned her head onto his other shoulder to try and comfort him as his shoulders hitched and his breath shook.
Soul turned around and looked around the now empty and silent fairgrounds, save for the rain that was still falling. Her empty gaze swept across the surrounding area, bodies coating the once happy and bustling fairgrounds. Blood soaking into the mud, collecting into puddles where the ground has been saturated. Soul's eyes stopped and then they widened in slight horror. About 20 feet away from them, Soul saw a familiar body of the girl she had met the day before. It was Nyx and Nate's friend Alex. She was on her back with three gunshot wounds in the front of her body. Her head was turned slightly towards Soul and a trail of blood was flowing from her mouth. Her eyes were open but they were dull and lifeless. Soul's breath hitched in her throat as she stared. Another innocent person dragged into the abyss just by being in the horrid lives of the Gifted. Soul's face softened slightly, Nate hasn't noticed her body yet...
Soul's attention was brought back to her friends when Nate suddenly let out a scream of frustration and pain that had been building for a long time. Rhys and Nerissa jolted backwards slightly from the surprise of Nate suddenly yelling. "Why?!" He yelled out in frustration. "Why is it always her?!" Nate dropped his head again and clutched the bloody mud in his fists. "Why can't I just...be good enough." Nate choked out quietly before he breathed heavily to hold back his sobs. He didn't want to show weakness in front of his friends like this but his strength...was locked in a black box.
"Nate..." Rhys spoke up quietly, Nate didn't react but Rhys continued anyway. "I know you're scared, I'm scared too. But this is Nyx, she has Danny, Oliver and Orion in there with her as well. She'll be okay." Rhys sounded genuine as he placed a supportive hand on Nate's back. Nate's breathing calmed slightly but his head stayed low. Nate knew his friend was right, Nyx was smart and strong. She had support as well, even Damien must be struggling against them. However, the fact that this box was still standing after all this time meant that Damien was still conscious and able to keep it up. This caused one singular thought to shove its way into Nate's mind where it repeated its mocking mantra.
What if she isn't?